In the past few years, many eyesores in Falmouth have been dealt with. The downtown area has cleaned up quite a bit. Coming into town on 27 looks good. Many buildings that are still standing have been repaired by owners. Much of the downtown landscape is starting to look attractive again. This is the perfect time, as we have mentioned, to move forward and not just have major festivals such as the Wool Fest, the Ewenique Art Walk, and the Balloon Festival. It’s a great time to make it easier to do smaller festivals more often.
It is also a great time to start an initiative and a fund to beautify the streets, main roads, and sidewalks, clearing vegetation where needed and making attractive upgrades when cost permits. For the first few events, maybe a certain amount of the funds raised could go into a special account that would utilize this money for purposes that would make the city more attractive.
This does several things. One, it brings in much-needed business, tourism, and tax money. What it also could do, if done correctly, is bring in businesses that want to stay. It also is a good time to start shopping for more companies that may want to join the industrial park instead of just one company leaving and one company moving in. This move, while not strictly a city initiative, could be done in cooperation with the county.
We have hammered at things like infrastructure failures. It is time to come up with realistic plans on how to fix the underlying low-pressure pipes, even if it’s one street at a time. Change does not happen overnight, but hope and initiative are all you need to start. There’s a phrase: “If the juice is worth the squeeze.” Falmouth and Pendleton County as a whole are worth the squeeze.
Please leave your comments and whispers. Let us know your ideas.
What streets or buildings should be top priority?
Would you support smaller monthly events?
What businesses should Falmouth try to attract?
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